The Old Bishop's Palace is a historic visitor attraction in the city of

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincoln ...

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...

. When it was first built, in the late 12th century, it was at the centre of the vast

Diocese of Lincoln The Diocese of Lincoln forms part of the Province of Canterbury in England. The present diocese covers the ceremonial county of Lincolnshire. History The diocese traces its roots in an unbroken line to the Pre-Reformation Diocese of Leices ...

, which stretched from the

Humber The Humber is a large tidal estuary on the east coast of Northern England. It is formed at Trent Falls, Faxfleet, by the confluence of the tidal rivers Ouse and Trent. From there to the North Sea, it forms part of the boundary between th ...

to the

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

. The Palace was one of the most impressive buildings of medieval England, reflecting the power and wealth of Lincoln's bishops. It is situated on a spectacular hillside site, just below

Lincoln Cathedral Lincoln Cathedral, Lincoln Minster, or the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Lincoln and sometimes St Mary's Cathedral, in Lincoln, England, is a Grade I listed cathedral and is the seat of the Anglican Bishop of Lincoln. Constructio ...

, providing extensive views over the city. The site lies immediately to the south of the Roman wall which had become the medieval defensive wall of the ''Bail'', which enclosed both

Lincoln Castle Lincoln Castle is a major medieval castle constructed in Lincoln, England, during the late 11th century by William the Conqueror on the site of a pre-existing Roman fortress. The castle is unusual in that it has two mottes. It is one of only ...

and Lincoln Cathedral. The palace was damaged during the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

and subsequently largely abandoned. During the period that followed the Bishop's main residence was Buckden Palace in

Huntingdonshire Huntingdonshire (; abbreviated Hunts) is a non-metropolitan district of Cambridgeshire and a historic county of England. The district council is based in Huntingdon. Other towns include St Ives, Godmanchester, St Neots and Ramsey. The popul ...

. In 1841, following the reduction in size of the

, the Bishop moved to

Riseholme Riseholme is a small village and civil parish in the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. The population of the civil parish was 450 at the 2011 census. It is situated approximately north from the city and county town of Lincoln. R ...

, to the north of Lincoln. This proved inconvenient and

Riseholme Hall Riseholme Hall is an early 18th-century country house in Riseholme, West Lindsey, Lincolnshire, England. It was designed by William Railton and is a grade II listed building From about 1840 until 1887, it served as the official residence for the ...

was sold. In 1886 an older building on the western side of the Palace enclosure was substantially rebuilt and enlarged in a Tudor revival style by the architect

Ewan Christian Ewan Christian (1814–1895) was a British architect. He is most frequently noted for the restorations of Southwell Minster and Carlisle Cathedral, and the design of the National Portrait Gallery. He was Architect to the Ecclesiastical Commiss ...

. A further change occurred in 1888 when the architects Bodley and Garner rebuilt and converted the southern portion of the medieval Great Hall into a chapel for the Bishop. In 1945 it was decided that this Palace was too large and in 1948 the Bishop's residence was moved to Atherstone Place on the north side of the cathedral. The

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literature ...

Bishop's palace subsequently became a Diocesan Retreat centre and since 2009 has been run as the Old Palace Hotel. The ruined parts of the Medieval Palace were placed in the guardianship of the Ministry of Works in 1954, and are now managed by

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

. A programme of restoration, excavation and interpretation has been carried out. A modern garden plan was laid out by Mark Anthony Walker, in 2001, and a vineyard re-established in 2012.

History and architecture

Research on the Bishop's Palace is very dependent on the work of

Edward James Willson Edward James Willson (1787–1854) was an English people, English architect, antiquary, architectural writer, and Mayor of Lincoln, England, mayor of Lincoln in 1851–2. Life Born in Lincoln, England, Lincoln on 21 June 1787, he was the eldes ...

, who was surveyor to the Dean and Chapter of the Cathedral. Willson produced detailed surveys of the ruins as they stood in the 1840s and related them to architectural fragments from the site. From this Willson, together with his son Thomas who was also an architect, drawings were constructed to show how the palace had appeared in Medieval times. Willson also made extensive use of documents in the

Lincoln Cathedral Library The Lincoln Cathedral Library is a library of Lincoln Cathedral in Lincolnshire, England. Collections As well as a reference collection of c.10,000 items, there are 260 mediaeval manuscripts, including works of theology, canon law, devotional ...

and particularly the detailed survey of the Palace produced during

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...

by the Parliamentary Commissioners in 1647. When taken in conjunction with the engraving made by

Samuel Buck Samuel Buck (1696 – 17 August 1779) and his brother Nathaniel Buck (died 1759/1774) were English engravers and printmakers, best known for their ''Buck's Antiquities'', depictions of ancient castles and monasteries. Samuel produced much ...

in 1726 of the Palace, a good idea can be formed as to the extent of destruction that occurred to the building during this period. Willson presented his findings to The Archaeological Institute of Britain and Ireland on the occasion of their visit to Lincoln in 1848. Old Bishop's Palace Lincoln

Hieronymus Grimm drawings

In the 1780s the ruins of Bishop's Palace were recorded in some detail by Hieronymus Grimm, a Swiss artist working for

Sir Richard Kaye Sir Richard Kaye, 6th Baronet, , LL.D (1736–25 December 1809) was an English peer, churchman and scientist. He was Dean of Lincoln from 1783, and inherited the baronetcy from his elder brother Sir John Lister Kaye, 5th Baronet in 1789. Life ...

, the Dean of Lincoln. These drawings show the Palace in an advanced state of decay, before the 19th-century restoration work had begun. These include the a view of the

Alnwick Alnwick ( ) is a market town in Northumberland, England, of which it is the traditional county town. The population at the 2011 Census was 8,116. The town is on the south bank of the River Aln, south of Berwick-upon-Tweed and the Scottish bor ...

tower with the

oriel window An oriel window is a form of bay window which protrudes from the main wall of a building but does not reach to the ground. Supported by corbels, bracket (architecture), brackets, or similar cantilevers, an oriel window is most commonly found pro ...

lacking fenestration and without the present turrets and

crenellation A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (i.e., a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at interva ...

. Other views show the west side of the Great Hall and views from the south. One of these, looking towards the Cathedral, shows the house on the left, which was to be converted into the later Bishop's Palace in 1886.

Drawings by Hieronymus Grimm of the Old Bishops’ Palace

The Layout of the Bishop’s Palace

The palace's most notable surviving feature is the East Hall, built over an

undercroft An undercroft is traditionally a cellar or storage room, often brick-lined and vaulted, and used for storage in buildings since medieval times. In modern usage, an undercroft is generally a ground (street-level) area which is relatively open ...

by the Burgundian-born Bishop St Hugh of Lincoln and completed in the 1230s. The range of buildings that included an expanded chapel and the tower

gatehouse A gatehouse is a type of fortified gateway, an entry control point building, enclosing or accompanying a gateway for a town, religious house, castle, manor house, or other fortification building of importance. Gatehouses are typically the mos ...

were built by Bishop William Alnwick, (bishop 1436–1450) in the 1430s."Antram", 1989, 485-488

Bishops Palace Gallery

File:Lincoln Cathedral, Lincoln - geograph.org.uk - 1519114.jpg, Chapel and Old Palace Hotel from the Cathedral tower File:Lincoln Bishop's Palace.jpg, Alnwick's tower File:Medieval Kitchen - geograph.org.uk - 495060.jpg, Medieval Kitchen - File:Undercroft - geograph.org.uk - 495059.jpg, Undercroft File:Medieval Bishops' Palace - geograph.org.uk - 894374.jpg, Medieval Bishops' Palace File:The Old Palace, Lincoln - geograph.org.uk - 586269.jpg, The Old Palace, Lincoln File:Lincoln cathedral 07 fromBishopspalace.jpg, Lincoln Cathedral from the Palace ile:Old Bishop's Palace

''See also'': Other Residences in Lincoln Cathedral Close and Minster Yard

* Vicars' Court, Lincoln *

The Old Deanery, Lincoln The Old Deanery, Lincoln was the official residence of the Dean of Lincoln. It was a spacious building set around a courtyard. The Deanery is thought to have been started in 1254 by Richard de Gravesend, who became Dean in that year and Bishop of ...

''See also'': Other Palaces and Residences of the Bishop of Lincoln

Biggleswade Biggleswade ( ) is a market town and civil parish in Central Bedfordshire in Bedfordshire, England. It lies on the River Ivel, 11 miles (18 km) south-east of Bedford. Its population was 16,551 in the 2011 United Kingdom census, and its es ...

* Buckden Palace *

Dorchester, Oxfordshire Dorchester on Thames (or Dorchester-on-Thames) is a village and civil parish in Oxfordshire, about northwest of Wallingford and southeast of Oxford. The town is a few hundred yards from the confluence of the River Thames and River Thame. A c ...

Fingest Fingest is a village in Buckinghamshire, England. It is in the Chiltern Hills near the border with Oxfordshire. It is about six miles WSW of High Wycombe. It lies in the civil parish of Hambleden. The parish church of St Bartholomew's dates f ...

, Buckinghamshire. *

Horncastle, Lincolnshire Horncastle is a town and civil parish in the East Lindsey district in Lincolnshire, east of Lincoln, England, Lincoln. Its population was 6,815 at the 2011 census and estimated at 7,123 in 2019. A section of the ancient Roman Britain, Roman wa ...

. Bishops Palace. *London,

Camden Camden may refer to: People * Camden (surname), a surname of English origin * Camden Joy (born 1964), American writer * Camden Toy (born 1957), American actor Places Australia * Camden, New South Wales * Camden, Rosehill, a heritage res ...

, Inn of the Bishop of Lincoln, later Southampton House. Purchased from Templars by Bishop Robert de Chesney (1148–68). *?

Louth, Lincolnshire Louth () is a market town and civil parish in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England.OS Explorer map 283:Louth and Mablethorpe: (1:25 000): Louth serves as an important town for a large rural area of eastern Lincolnshire. Visitor ...

Lyddington Bede House Lyddington Bede House is a historic house in Rutland, England, owned and opened to the public by English Heritage. The existing Grade I listed building is a part of a former palace of the Bishops of Lincoln, situated next to St Andrew's Church i ...

Nettleham Nettleham is a large village and civil parish within the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England, north-east from the city of Lincoln between the A46 and A158. The population of the civil parish was 3,437 at the 2011 census. History ...

, Lincolnshire. *

Spaldwick Spaldwick is a village and civil parish in Cambridgeshire, England. Spaldwick lies approximately west of Huntingdon, near Catworth. Spaldwick is situated within Huntingdonshire which is a non-metropolitan district of Cambridgeshire as well as ...

, Huntingdoshire. Bury Close. *

Stow, Lincolnshire Stow (or archaically, Stow-in-Lindsey) is a village and civil parish within the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It is north-west of the city of Lincoln and south-east of Gainsborough, and lies along the B1241 road. The total ...

Thame Thame is a market town and civil parish in Oxfordshire, about east of the city of Oxford and southwest of Aylesbury. It derives its name from the River Thame which flows along the north side of the town and forms part of the county border wi ...

, Oxfordshire. *

Wooburn Wooburn is a large village in Buckinghamshire, England. It is located off the A4094 road between Wooburn Green and Bourne End in the very south of the county near the River Thames, about two miles south west of Beaconsfield and four miles east ...

, Buckinghamshire. Bishops Palace

References

Bibliography

*Antram N (revised), Pevsner N & Harris J, (1989), ''The Buildings of England: Lincolnshire'', Yale University Press. * Chapman H. et al. (1975). ''Excavations at the Bishop’s Palace, Lincoln'', The Society for Lincolnshire History and Archaeology. Occasional Paper 1. Sleaford. *Coppack G. (2000), ''Medieval Bishop's Palace, Lincoln'' English Heritage. *Faulkner P. (1974), ''Lincoln Old Bishops' Palace'', Archaeological Journal, Vol. 131, pp. 140–144. * Willson E. J. (1848), ''The Ancient Episcopal Palace, Lincoln''. Memoirs Illustrative of the History and Antiquities of the City and County of Lincoln. Archaeological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland. London. pg2ff.

External links

{{Commons category, Lincoln Medieval Bishop's Palace *British Listed Building
Lincoln Medieval Bishop's Palace
- official site at English Heritage Tourist attractions in Lincolnshire Buildings and structures in Lincoln, England English Heritage sites in Lincolnshire History of Lincoln, England Episcopal palaces in England